The Cowgirl Who Loved Horses, Queens of Montana Bonus Book

by Vanessa Bartal

  Chapter 19

  It took a long time for Marcus to coax Cecily back to the house. The only way he succeeded was by reminding her that his parents were coming to supper soon and she had tapas in the oven.

  She actually smiled at that. “You’ve never said the word ‘tapas’ in your life, have you?”

  He returned her smile and brushed his knuckles along her jaw. “I’m having a lot of firsts with you.”

  She would love to stay and find out what that meant, but he was right; there was work to be done. When they returned to the house, he adeptly ushered her mother out of the kitchen and kept her in the living room talking until his parents arrived.

  Cecily went out to greet them, wiping her hands on the dishtowel tucked in her jeans. Her mother and the Henshaws were already deep in friendly-looking conversation. Once again she noticed how both her mother and Lydia Henshaw were the soul of polite perfection to anyone but her. Her opinion was reinforced when both women turned to her with disapproving scowls.

  “So you do know your way around a kitchen,” Lydia said.

  “Do you realize you have a dishtowel in your pants?” her mother asked.

  She looked to Marcus for moral support. He winked and mouthed, “Sexy,” and she turned and went back into the kitchen with a smile.

  They ate in the kitchen. Their house was smaller and more casual than the Henshaw’s. Cecily had never minded before, but she saw it now with fresh eyes as she thought of the Henshaw’s grand dining room where they took most meals.

  This is who I am, she repeated to herself over and over. I’m a country girl who makes paella. There’s nothing wrong with that.

  She had to repeat it often as she surreptitiously watched her mother-in-law’s face. The older woman looked around at the well-worn oak furniture in barely concealed distaste.

  “Is this paella?” she asked when Cecily set a bowl of the colorful stew in front of her.

  “Yes it is,” Cecily said happily, determined to stay positive.

  “I’m allergic to shellfish,” she said, and pushed the bowl away.

  Marcus frowned. “Since when?”

  “Since always. You probably don’t know because we don’t get much of it here in the middle of Montana. I’m almost certain you were there when I told Libby. Of course, she usually cooked regional dishes.”

  “This is a regional dish in our family,” Shelby said. Was that protectiveness Cecily heard in her tone, or was she imagining things? “My parents are from Spain. Cecily has been eating paella since she had teeth.”

  Cecily forced a smile at Lydia. “There are plenty of tapas, and none of them has shellfish,” she said.

  “Tapas?” Lydia repeated the word like it was a disease.

  “That’s a fancy Spanish word for appetizers,” Marcus said. “I bet you had no idea Cecily was so diverse, or so talented.” He gave a pointed and warning glance to his mother.

  “No, I had no idea,” she said dully.

  “What does Yancey think of all the changes Cecily is making to his ranch?” Evan asked. “I hardly recognized the place.” Once again her kind father-in-law’s attempt to rescue her was about to make things much, much worse.

  “Changes?” Shelby echoed. She looked at her daughter in question.

  Cecily cleared her throat. “I’ve been phasing out cattle and breeding horses instead.”

  Shelby frowned. “Your father didn’t mention it.”

  “He doesn’t exactly know.” She fiddled with her napkin. Paper napkin, she thought absently. The Henshaws always used cloth napkins.

  “You’ve been keeping secrets from your father?” Shelby asked. By her tone Cecily couldn’t tell if it was disapproving or not.

  She started to shred the napkin. “Well, Dad’s not here, Mom,” she said slowly. “I wasn’t doing well with the cattle business. I know nothing about cows. I know lots about horses, and I enjoy them. I had to make the switch or lose the ranch.” She repressed a shudder with the memory of how close she had come to losing everything. “The horses are starting to turn a profit, and I think it’s going to be quite lucrative after I’m well established.”

  “That’s so,” Evan agreed. “I’ve had Jessup looking into things.”

  She fought a frown. She loved her new father-in-law, but this was her business.

  “Dad, you should have asked Cecily’s permission for that,” Marcus said.

  “He was trying to be helpful,” Lydia said. “Surely she has enough sense to recognize she needs help to make this ranch livable. Although I suppose she recognized that before the marriage.”

  “Mother,” Marcus said. He looked at his mother as if he had never seen her before, and he probably hadn’t. She had never said anything so blatantly critical in his presence before, although she had said that much and worse to Cecily in private. “Let me clear something up once and for all. Lee didn’t pursue me, I pursued her. I married her because I wanted to, not because I had to, and not because she tricked me into it.”

  Lydia looked unconvinced.

  Evan cleared his throat. “I do apologize if I overstepped my bounds, Cecily. I can’t seem to help from taking on a challenge in the business world, and your operation here intrigues me.”

  She studied him, realizing she was being oversensitive. And by all accounts he was a business genius. Perhaps she had been too shortsighted in trying to keep him out of everything when it was obvious she could benefit from his help. Impulsively she stood to give him a tight hug.

  “No, I’m the one who is sorry, Evan. I do appreciate your help here. I suppose I’m sensitive because I’ve been doing it all myself, and my pride wants to succeed or fail on my own merit, but that’s not a reasonable way to run a business.”

  He cleared his throat, embarrassed but pleased by her display. “Yes, well, you’re family now.” He took a bite of the paella. “This is good.”

  “Thank you.” She smiled at him. Her eyes fell on Marcus. He was beaming at her with pride and affection. But when her eyes settled on Lydia, her smile died. The woman was looking at her with smoldering resentment, and she knew if she hated her before it was nothing compared to what she felt now. In her mother-in-law’s mind she had crossed over the line by winning Evan to her side. Cecily knew this because it was the same look her mother gave her every time her father had fawned affectionately over her.

  The story of my life, Cecily thought. My fathers love me, and my mothers hate me.

  “How long are you able to stay, Shelby?” Marcus asked. She couldn’t tell what Marcus’s opinion of her mother was, and she wondered if his real question was, “How soon can I get rid of you?”

  Shelby must have wondered the same thing because her smile was wry. “I’m staying a few days here and then going to Omaha to visit Dante and Kitty.”

  “Are they engaged yet?” Lydia asked. Her smile looked sweet and sentimental, much more like the woman Cecily knew before her marriage.

  “Not yet, but any day now. Between you, me, and the wall, Dante spent a lot of time ring shopping last time he was in Chicago.”

  Cecily frowned. “He didn’t tell me that.”

  Shelby frowned, too. “My children like secrets, apparently.”

  “He’s a lucky boy,” Lydia said. “Kitty’s such a sweet girl. All the Chapman girls are.” She swallowed hard. Mathew had been very briefly engaged to Maggie Chapman before his death.

  Cecily swallowed hard, too, but her emotions had more to do with wistfulness. She wished her mother-in-law would talk about her that way and sigh with happiness over her marriage to her son.

  “Kitty feels like a daughter to me already,” Shelby said. “She and Cecily have always been close, and she spent so many nights here when they were little girls.”

  She spent a lot of nights here after that, too, but you were in Chicago with Dante, Cecily thought, and was surprised by her own bitterness. She had no idea she resented her mother for leaving and taking her brother.

  “Will yo
u be returning to the ranch after Yancey’s release?” Marcus asked.

  “Marcus, that’s a personal question that’s none of your business,” Lydia chided, but she looked interested in the answer all the same.

  Shelby smiled. “It’s all right. I’m sure everyone is confused and curious over our convoluted family situation.” She sighed. “To tell you the truth, I don’t want to come back here. Too many ghosts, if you know what I mean. I’ve made a life for myself in Chicago, and I’m hoping Yancey might join me there.”

  Cecily was instantly defensive. “But Dad loves the ranch. He’s lived here his whole life and he doesn’t know anything else.”

  Shelby’s irritation was immediate, too. “Cecily, he’ll be almost seventy years old when he’s released. That’s a reasonable time to retire.”

  “But,” Cecily started again, but Marcus caught her eye and shook his head. She almost wanted to cry over the thought of her father not returning to the ranch, but then she thought about it from her mother’s point of view. She never adapted to ranch life, even when she was happy with her father. She was a city girl. Cecily looked at Marcus again. If for some reason she decided to leave the ranch and go somewhere else, wouldn’t she hope that he would follow? She would follow him, no matter where he went. She took a breath. “Maybe that would be for the best. The ranch might have too many painful memories for dad, too. Besides, I think he would like Chicago if he gave it a chance. I liked it there. I almost didn’t come home.”

  Marcus scowled at her.

  “I didn’t know you then,” she said. “Obviously if I had you here waiting for me nothing would have kept me away.” She covered his hand with hers and squeezed. He smiled and when she happened to glance at her mother she was smiling, too. There was something Cecily didn’t recognize in her look, and she realized with a start that it was approval.

  “Maybe you could put a bug in your dad’s ear about Chicago,” her mother said. “He listens to you, and I think if we start working on him now he might be ready when he gets out in eight years.”

  “Maybe I will,” Cecily said. She and her mother shared a smile, and she tucked into her paella with gusto.